Natural Selection Flashcards
a molecule that is present in all living cells
DNA
a subunit that consists of a sugar, a phosphate, and a nitrogenous base
Nucleotide
a CHANGE in the nucleotide base sequence of a gene or DNA molecule
Mutations
a characteristic that improves an individuals ability to survive and reproduce in a particular environment
Adaptation
a group of organisms that are closely related and can mate to produce fertile offspring
Species
the process in which inherited characteristics within a population change over generations such as that new species sometimes arise
Evolution
the remains or physical evidence of an organism preserved by geological processes
Fossils
a historical sequence of life indicated by fossils found in layers of the Earth’s crust
Fossil Reord
a genetically determined characteristic
Trait
the human practice of breeding animals or plants that have certain desired characteristics
Selective Breeding
the process by which individuals that are better adapted to their environment survive and reproduce more successfully than less well adapted individuals do
Natural Selection
a period between the birth of one generation and the birth of the next generation
Generation Time
the formation of new species as a result of evolution
Speciation
a type of mammal characterized by opposable thumbs and binocular vision
Primates
a type of primate characterized by bipedalism, relatively long lower limbs, and lack of a tail
Hominid
the species of hominids that includes modern humans and their closest ancestors and that first appeared about 100,000 to 150,000 years ago
Homo Sapiens
DNA from any cell of all organisms should have a 1:1 ratio (base Pair Rule) of pyrimidine and purine bases
Chargaff’s Rules
The two twentieth-century biologists who discovered the double helix of DNA
Watson and Crick
British x-ray crystallographer whose diffraction images, made by directing x-rays at DNA, provided crucial information that led to the discovery of its structure as a double helix by Francis Crick and James D. Watson
Rosalind Franklin
an English naturalist and geologist, best known for his contributions to the science of evolution, he established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestors
Charles Darwin
